At his most animated when berating Labor for its opposition to the public vote, Mr Turnbull argued a plebiscite was the best way to decide a matter on which Australians had such deeply-held personal convictions.
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“My view and that of my wife Lucy is that the law should be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry”, he told the Parliament.
Labor leader Bill Shorten has indicated he will block the so-called plebiscite – a compulsory vote for all adult Australians – in the upper house, potentially halting any chances of marriage equality for another three years.
Fulfilling his promise made during the campaign for 2016’s prime ministerial election, Australia’s Malcolm Turnbull has presented same-sex marriage vote bill before parliament.
The Bendigo MP was ejected from question time yesterday after heckling Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull during a debate about marriage equality.
Two minor parties that support same-sex marriage have already indicated they won’t back the initiative, while Labor has said it will wait on the detail of the plebiscite legislation before taking a position.
Bridget McKenzie, who is an Australian senator, was appearing on ABC’s live panel show Q&A discussing Australia’s planned plebiscite on equal marriage when her brother appeared to ask a viewer questions via video. Those people needed to be shown respect without being branded as bigots and homophobes, he said.
Earlier in the week, Mr Shorten raised the spectre of young people committing suicide as a result of the divisive debate that could be unleased by the government’s plebiscite.
Smith said the idea of a plebiscite is “abhorrent” and that he will abstain from voting.
The debate surrounding marriage equality in Australia has pit some family members against each other-only most don’t go at it on national television.
However, the proposal still needs to be signed off by parliament, including the Senate, where Labor looks set to block it because the government is proposing giving $7.5 million for campaigning to both the “yes” and “no” campaigns.
Ms Chesters said Labor and cross bench MPs were waiting for an opportunity when government numbers were reduced to make a move on marriage equality legislation.
“Mr. Shorten should stop blocking this democratic process for which we have a clear mandate from the public”, Turnbull told reporters.
The Prime Minister noted many people had changed their views on the merit of a plebiscite, singling out Mr Shorten but not himself.
However, within the Senate, the action meets a roadblock in the form of Labor leader Bill Shorten, who has vehemently opposed the measure.
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In a fiery performance, the Prime Minister objected to critics’ accusations about subsidising bigotry.
